In Search of OperaCarolyn Abbate

"In Search of Opera is one of the most important and exciting considerations of the ontology of the operatic work to date. Its main accomplishment is extraordinary, opening up an entirely new approach to thinking about how musical works resonate, one that can be applied not just to the operatic medium, but to the western art music tradition as a whole. This book will be of interest, therefore, not only to students of opera, but to anyone who has ever thought about what it is to listen, to compose, to perform."--Hilary Poriss, Notes

ADDITIONAL ENDORSEMENTS:

"In Search of Opera is powerful, original, and important. Carolyn Abbate is a highly distinctive voice in the field of opera studies. Her capacity to disturb easy orthodoxies is astonishing. She brings philosophical sophistication to everything she treats. And she is a lovely writer."--Paul Robinson, Stanford University

"These essays represent a breakthrough performance, building on the author's widely admired scholarly publications but pressing out into fascinating mediations on philosophical matters inspired by the experience of music. There are gifts throughout. The chapter on The Magic Flute is by itself worth more than the price of the book."--Stanley Cavell, Harvard University

"This book, which could be described broadly as a deconstruction of musical performance, is itself a performance. It is a work of great intellectual distinction in a field that doesn't have many such. Poetic, too. Abbate is one of those few critics for whom, one feels, criticism is an art."--Joseph Kerman, University of California, Berkeley

"Abbate's brilliant study is likely to challenge readers and reshape thinking about opera for years to come"--M. Lignana Rosenberg, Opera News